Google all the Way

AdWords and Facebook ads are advertising platforms for both Google and Facebook. Both platforms allow marketers to reach any audience, small or large. They also use geographic targeting to narrow down the audience. Both platforms are designed to allow the marketer to set their own budget and create their own ads. The major differences in the two platforms are how they target the audiences.

Google AdWords advertise to people who are already searching for a specific product or service. The ads show up in response to a certain demand. When creating the ads, marketers can enter keywords that consumers will search and are related to the listed ad. They can also target ads based on consumers’ interests that are collected from browsing history. Google has created a retargeting platform called Google AdWords Remarketing. This is when the ads target people who have previously visited a website or similar websites.  

Facebook ads rely on data collected from consumer profiles. Opposite of Google AdWords, Facebook ads are displayed to people who are not necessarily searching for a specific product or service but may have indicated interest in something similar. When on Facebook, the ads are shown based on user attributes. Interestingly, they also target ads based on the language used in the ad itself.

When comparing the two platforms, Facebook has had less success than Google. According to Mashable.com, Facebook has an average CTR of .051% and Google has an average CTR of 0.4%. Facebook display revenues reached $1.06 billion in Q1 in 2012 but Google doubled this with display revenues equaling $2.9 billion. Facebook is also behind on mobile advertising and has a weaker ad format.

To increase the separation between the two platforms, Google recently launched an AdWords video platform for YouTube. According to an article on Huffington Post, the new platform will offer several ways for businesses to understand what consumers show the most interest in. This includes a variety of products and different industries. YouTube has over 800 million monthly visitors and one video advertisement can take a business to the next level. YouTube search keywords can also now be integrated into the AdWords platform. This helps expand the search for different audiences.

To kickoff this new platform, Google is offering $50 million in free advertising. They are giving 500,000 plus businesses $75 worth of free advertising. While AdWords allows for pay per clicks or set budgets, with this new platform, advertisers will only pay when the video is watched. This is their attempt to monetize on YouTube which is thought to estimate $1 billion in revenue a year.

Ultimately, Google has had better success with their ad platform than Facebook. They generate more revenue, have better click-through rates, and give more format options. Google supports mobile formatting while Facebook does not and has created a new form of targeting based on visits to other websites. On top of all that, Google has successfully launched a video platform that expands their reach to different audiences. When it comes to display advertisements, Google is better choice. Facebook has yet to figure it all out and could learn from Google.